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Costa Rica
Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a country located in Central America. It's the neighbor of Panama to the southeast and Nicaragua to the north. It has access to the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Costa Rica is currently an unknown Countryhuman character, but may grow in popularity. Description Appearance Often represented as a female wearing a white jacket, a black shirt, and brown jeans. Costa Rica often has an eye patch with the country's emblem in the right eye, because that's where the emblem is located in the flag. She can also be seen with a flower or a flower crown on her head, representing the flower used in the national folk costume. Personality Often showcased as a social butterfly, Costa Rica is very friendly and polite, but also likes joking and having fun with friends. She is warm and generous. Interests Costa Rica likes to play football. She has the most successful football players in the history of Central America. She is also very interested in taking care of nature, and is very conscious of her natural surroundings. Flag meaning The flag consists of five horizontal bands of blue, white, red (double width), white and blue with a white elliptical disk placed towards the hoist-side of the red band bearing the National Coat of Arms. The blue color stands for the sky, opportunities, idealism, and perseverance. The white color stands for peace, wisdom, and happiness. The red color stands for the blood spilled by martyrs in defense of the country, as well as the warmth and generosity of the people. Organizations and Affiliations * Association of Caribbean States (ACS) * Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) * Organization of American States (OAS) * International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) * World Trade Organization (WTO) * United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) * United Nations Organization (UN) * Central American Common Market (CACM) * Secretary of Economic Integration of Central America (SIECA) * The Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA) History Pre-Columbian Period The impact of indigenous peoples on modern Costa Rican culture has been relatively small compared to other nations since the country lacked a strong native civilization, to begin with. Most of the native population was absorbed into the Spanish-speaking colonial society through inter-marriage, except for some small remnants, the most significant of which are the Bribri and Boruca tribes who still inhabit the mountains of the Cordillera de Talamanca, in the southeastern part of Costa Rica, near the frontier with Panama. Spanish Colonization The name la Costa Rica, meaning "rich coast" in the Spanish language, was in some accounts first applied by Christopher Columbus, who sailed to the eastern shores of Costa Rica during his final voyage in 1502 and reported vast quantities of gold jewelry worn by natives. The name may also have come from conquistador Gil González Dávila, who landed on the west coast in 1522, encountered natives, and appropriated some of their gold. The Ujarrás historical site in the Orosí Valley, Cartago province. The church was built between 1686 and 1693. During most of the colonial period, Costa Rica was the southernmost province of the Captaincy General of Guatemala, nominally part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. In practice, the captaincy general was a largely autonomous entity within the Spanish Empire. Costa Rica's distance from the capital of the captaincy in Guatemala, its legal prohibition under Spanish law from trade with its southern neighbor Panama, then part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada(i.e. Colombia), and lack of resources such as gold and silver, made Costa Rica into a poor, isolated, and sparsely-inhabited region within the Spanish Empire. Costa Rica was described as "the poorest and most miserable Spanish colony in all America" by a Spanish governor in 1719. Another important factor behind Costa Rica's poverty was the lack of a significant indigenous population available for encomienda (forced labor), which meant most of the Costa Rican settlers had to work on their own land, preventing the establishment of large haciendas (plantations). For all these reasons, Costa Rica was, by and large, unappreciated and overlooked by the Spanish Crown and left to develop on its own. The circumstances during this period are believed to have led to many of the idiosyncrasies for which Costa Rica has become known, while concomitantly setting the stage for Costa Rica's development as a more egalitarian society than the rest of its neighbors. Costa Rica became a "rural democracy" with no oppressed mestizo or indigenous class. It was not long before Spanish settlers turned to the hills, where they found rich volcanic soil and a milder climate than that of the lowlands. Independence Like the rest of Central America, Costa Rica never fought for independence from Spain. On 15 September 1821, after the final Spanish defeat in the Mexican War of Independence (1810–21), the authorities in Guatemala declared the independence of all of Central America. That date is still celebrated as Independence Day in Costa Rica even though, technically, under the Spanish Constitution of 1812 that had been readopted in 1820, Nicaragua and Costa Rica had become an autonomous province with its capital in León. Upon independence, Costa Rican authorities faced the issue of officially deciding the future of the country. Two bands formed, the Imperialists, defended by Cartago and Heredia cities which were in favor of joining the Mexican Empire, and the Republicans, represented by the cities of San José and Alajuela who defended full independence. Because of the lack of agreement on these two possible outcomes, the first civil war of Costa Rica occurred. The Battle of Ochomogo took place on the Hill of Ochomogo, located in the Central Valley in 1823. The conflict was won by the Republicans and, as a consequence, the city of Cartago lost its status as the capital, which moved to San José. The 1849 national coat of arms was featured in the first postal stamp issued in 1862. In 1838, long after the Federal Republic of Central America ceased to function in practice, Costa Rica formally withdrew and proclaimed itself sovereign. The considerable distance and poor communication routes between Guatemala City and the Central Plateau, where most of the Costa Rican population lived then and still lives now, meant the local population had little allegiance to the federal government in Guatemala. From colonial times to now, Costa Rica's reluctance to become economically tied with the rest of Central America has been a major obstacle to efforts for greater regional integration. Geography Costa Rica is located on the Central American Isthmus, surrounding the point 10° north of the equator and 84° west of the prime meridian. It borders both the Caribbean Sea (to the east) and the North Pacific Ocean (to the west), with a total of 1,290 km of coastline (212 km on the Caribbean coast and 1,016 km on the Pacific). Costa Rica shares a border with Nicaragua to the north (313 km long border) and with Panama to the south (348 km long border). The area of Costa Rica is 51,100 km² of which 51,060 km² is land and 40 km² is water, making it slightly smaller than the U.S. state of West Virginia. Relationships Family * Spain - Mother * Mexico - Brother/sister * Guatemala - Sister * Honduras - Sister * Nicaragua - Evil brother/sister, sometimes portrayed as evil neighbor * El Salvador - Close brother * Panama - Half-nephew/niece and neighbor * Colombia - Half-brother/sister * Ecuador- Half-brother/sister * Peru - Half-brother/sister * Bolivia - Half-brother/sister * Argentina - Half-sister * Chile - Brother/Sister * Paraguay - Close Brother/Sister * Dominican Republic - Big Sis * Cuba; - Brother * Venezuela; - Half-brother/sister * United States; - Stepbrother Friends * Japan; * China; -Good Trading Partner * Brazil; -Another Good Trading Partner * Armenia; * Serbia; -Old Friend * India; * Israel; -You're pretty cool, I guess * Russia; - My good friend * United States; -Give me money Neutrals * Belgium; * Luxembourg * Netherlands; * Germany; * Taiwan; Enemies * Nicaragua; Enemy, Neighbor and Sibling Opinions References Wikipedia Category:The Americas Category:Everything Category:Country Category:Characters Category:Latin countries Category:Christian Countries Category:Catholic Countries Category:Hispanics Category:Republics Category:North America Category:OAS Members Category:Caribbean Category:UN Members